How can I start a healthy conversation about faith with a teenager that doesn’t feel obligatory or forced? See comment for context.

Tagged:

You can start off with some more accessible examples of faith and belief. One I like to point to is the interaction between Clarence and Elvis in True Romance. The whole movie may not be appropriate to show in a class setting but you might show YouTube excerpts. Elvis as a figure in Clarence's life that gives him meaning and purpose is exactly like a personal relationship with Jesus.

You can then segue into the idea that many Christians build personal relationships with Mary or one of the saints.

Finally you can show parts of A Christmas Carol, I recommend the recent 2009 animated version, it's fantastic and dark enough to capture the imaginations of teenagers. I would focus on the "ghosts", who always were more like angels to me. What's their role, what do they do?

The idea that kids can get divine help in the form of a spirit guide like Elvis might be really appealing to them. It might be just enough to get some of them to try.